[Novnarwen]

Rhând

He didn't understand what was happening. From the little crack in the tunnel wall, where he had stood seconds ago, being very near to ending the male elf's miserable life, he hadn't paid attention to what some of the other members of the company were doing. As the creatures had found him in the crack, he realised he would have to run for it, but then something odd had happened. Without hesitating, he had run, but stopped as soon as he was halfway towards the women and Grash. The creatures had suddenly stopped in mid air, twitching. Rhând coughed as a cloud of smoke passed him, and he came to realise that the others had covered their mouths. Being paralyzed with shock, he stood calmly watching what was happening.

"Cover," the prisoner said pointing at his cloth which covered his nose and mouth, "with cloth!" Grash continued. When hearing those words, the Southron finally managed to tear himself away from the twitching creatures going towards the four of them. He was handed a cloth, which he bound hurriedly to his face. He turned around, and paced back and forth, leaving the four; the three women and Grash, alone. Greatly confused about how the situation had developed - from almost dying in the crack, to being able to walk amongst the creatures as if they were harmless - Rhând looked questioningly at Grash. But, as expected, the man didn't return his gaze.

Seeing the women, he noticed something. What were they doing? Not being able to see too clearly, due to the clouds of smoke, he only spotted the women taking something in their hands. He took a step closer, being immensely curious about their doings. Perhaps it had something to do with the creatures’ odd behaviour and the cloths each of the prisoners wore. He frowned, feeling a bit annoyed by the cloth itching. Yes, they were certainly doing something. It had to be them, who had caused the creatures to drop dead and the smoke to appear. Yes, the women were polluting the air! Ha! Brilliant! With a smirk, no one could see, he saw them touching something. The colour of yellow became clear through the dim light from Grash's torch, and Rhând realised that he wasn't as far from the women as he had thought. If they were polluting the air with this yellow looking thing, these women were smarter than he had first expected. However, he could use this. This yellow surverah, as he heard them call it, was deadly; at least to the creatures. Surely, it was quite dangerous for them as well. Why else wear these silly masks?

It might not too dangerous for them now, but it will when I get my hands on it. Satisfied by the discovery of a new weapon, he approached them.

One thing bothered him about his sudden approach. It would seem suspicious of him to mix, purposely, with the women since they had this newly discovered weapon. Instead, he looked at them and smiled, pointed at himself and down the tunnel. With another grin, he stalked off in the other direction. If I find a way out of here, I may gain some friendships. If I find nothing, I might be able to cause panics, and then I will make my move. He grabbed his sword again, drawing it slowly out of the sheath. Silently, he walked on. It was darker now, as he didn't have a torch to light up the way. He held his left hand high, placing it on the wall, feeling his way forwards.

He felt a draught. It felt like a wind compared to completely still air in the tunnel. "A way out," Rhând, muttered to himself, still quiet and careful.

For each step, he felt the draught getting stronger and stronger. Soon, a dim light could be seen in what seemed like an end to the tunnel. He ran quickly, but stopped instantly as he discovered a cobweb. He lifted valiantly his sword, and with great effort, he hit it with great power. "Oh!" The Southron let out a sigh, as he fell to the cold ground. "The spider .. It is really true." Feeling quite miserable, he got hurriedly to his feet. He had to find the others, let them know about this, and cause panic.